Entire nail ripped off in accident

DISCLAIMER:
THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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It is very common for nails which have been traumatized to become deformed in some fashion. If this has occurred in your case, there is little prospect for there being anything which can be done to effect a normal nail growth. Typical ingrown nail surgeries may or may not be appropriate. See a podiatrist for an evaluation and definitive opinion.

 

Does the nail, in fact, appear to be deformed in any manner?

 

Footdoc

Thanks for your reply.
I've attached an image of its current state.
I don't think it is deformed. But it has a fair amount of flesh it needs to grow through before it can be clipped. I'm hoping it will resolve itself, but I'll visit a podiatrist if I see any infection.

 

DISCLAIMER:
THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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The nail IS abnormal in appearance, but I have no idea as to what it looked liked prior to your trauma. It does, however, demonstrate one sort of deformity which often occurs after a nail is traumatically lost. As often occurs when a nail is missing, the distal skin of the toe becomes somewhat bulbous, and the incoming nail frequently hugs the often traumatically distorted contours of the nail bed and grows into that bulbous end of the toe causing a distally ingrowing nail. Whether or not the nail can be redirected over the bulbous area so as not to ingrow is a matter that can only be determined by your podiatrist through trial and error. If the condition is refractory to this, it might be best to destroy the nail permanently. But it is premature to say if that will be so. See a podiatrist for evaluation and care.

 

That bad?
I'll do as you say and consult my local podiatrist.
If it comes to the worst, instead of destroying the nail permanently, what's your opinion of the Vandenbos Procedure?

 

DISCLAIMER:
THE FOLLOWING IS OFFERED GRATIS AS GENERAL INFORMATION ONLY, AND, AS SUCH, MAY NOT BE APPLICABLE TO THE SPECIFIC QUESTIONER AND/OR HIS/HER PROBLEM. IT IS CLEARLY NOT BASED ON ACTUAL KNOWLEDGE AND/OR EXAMINATION OF THE QUESTIONER OR HIS/HER MEDICAL HISTORY, AND IT CAN NOT AND SHOULD NOT BE RELIED UPON AS DEFINITIVE MEDICAL OPINION OR ADVICE. ONLY THROUGH HANDS-ON PHYSICAL CONTACT WITH THE ACTUAL PATIENT CAN ACCURATE MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS BE ESTABLISHED AND SPECIFIC ADVICE BE GIVEN. NO DOCTOR/PATIENT RELATIONSHIP IS CREATED OR ESTABLISHED OR MAY BE INFERRED. THE QUESTIONER AND/OR READER IS INSTRUCTED TO CONSULT HIS OR HER OWN DOCTOR BEFORE PROCEEDING WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS CONTAINED HEREIN, AND TO ACT ONLY UPON HIS/HER OWN DOCTOR’S ORDERS AND RECOMMENDATIONS. BY THE READING OF MY POSTING WHICH FOLLOWS, THE READER STIPULATES AND CONFIRMS THAT HE/SHE FULLY UNDERSTANDS THIS DISCLAIMER AND HOLDS HARMLESS THIS WRITER. IF THIS IS NOT FULLY AGREEABLE TO YOU, THE READER, AND/OR YOU HAVE NOT ATTAINED THE AGE OF 18 YEARS, YOU HEREBY ARE ADMONISHED TO READ NO FURTHER.
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In my personal opinion, after seeing it performed on YouTube, it appeared unnecessarily radical. I especially didn't like healing that large an area by granulation. But plastic nail lip revisions for ingrown nails where the problem is a hypertrophied nail lip is nothing new, though suture closure is generally, and in my opinion, more properly performed. As I said, it is premature to decide if any surgery is necessary. But ingrown nails and ingrown nail surgeries are VERY common and I would not agree the "that bad" is generally appropriate. My thought of destroying the nail, though, was in relation to the nail growing into the distal tuft of the toe, not the sides. Side ingrowing does not generally require a permanent nail removal.

 

I get what you are saying.

Thanks for your time, much appreciated.
I'll let this board know how it turns out.

 

UPDATE:
It's been nearly two months since my last post and I've simply let the nail do it's own thing. It has been tolerable, tho very painful whenever bumped. I feel that the pain might be a predictable part of the process, like a baby teething. There is now no pain on the LHS, & very little on the right.
One thing that concerns is that a large section of the nail is detached from the skin underneath (the area traced in the image).
I hope that this is just as a result of the pressures exerted on the nail as it grew through the flesh. I'm hoping the attached part will slowly spread up the toe. I have just clipped a small section from the top of the nail as it has cleared the toe (second image). There is a bit of weeping of clear fluid from the hollow below it, but I'm watching it carefully and soaking it in disinfectant once a week. Hopefully my optimism isn't misplaced.

 

Toenails are unpredictable. It would probably have been better for you to have had it professional looked at from the get-go.

 

Update

It's been 18months since the accident and my nail has now grown back completely.
Perhaps I should have gone to a specialist, but I reckoned that humans have been losing their toenails since they lived in caves, so I first wanted to give nature a chance.
It was very much like teething: extremely painful for a period of time. This was made worse by the fact that the leading edge of the new nail was slightly curled inwards, so it pushed hard on the surrounding skin.
But eventually the nail and the surrounding skin accommodated each other, and now my nail looks healthier than it looked before the accident.